JUI-F president Maulana Fazlur Rehman has become the central figure amid the ongoing clash between the government and opposition on a proposed constitutional amendment.
His party holds the same numbers in the Senate and the National Assembly which the government has required to gain a two-thirds majority for the amendment regarding the Supreme Court working.
The question arises whether the JUI-F, a leading religious party of the Deoband school of thought, will support the government or vote against the amendment. However, the PTI claims Maulana Fazlur Rehman will vote in favor of it.
Both the opposition parties, the PTI and the JUI-F, have firmly opposed the amendment, declaring it as an attack on the constitution. But many believe Fazl might change his stance at the 11th hour.
Reports say the JUI-F chief is ready to back the government’s proposal for a constitutional court. On these rumors, a PTI delegation met him at his residence. After the meeting, the PTI claimed that he would never support the constitutional amendment.
But, Maulana and his party refrained from commenting on it. A TV anchor claimed Maulana will support the establishment of a constitutional court and other amendments to the judiciary. He would also vote in favor of fixing the tenure of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) to three years. PTI leader Salman Akram Raja and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza emphasized that Maulana Fazl had never expressed support for the constitutional court.
